Personal Space
by Kristen3
Summary: Niles attempts to give his wife a way to relax as she prepares for the birth of their child. One romantic gesture can completely change a person's mood. One-shot. Rating is for innuendo.


**Author's **Note:Thanks to Leigh Ann (leighann415), whose comment on Facebook planted the seed for this story. It kind of snowballed on me, but I like the result. I hope everyone else does, too! :)

The cashier smiled as Niles placed his stack of books on the counter. "Wife or girlfriend?"

"What?" Niles asked, bewildered by the question.

"Well, most guys don't come in here to buy a bunch of romance novels, unless it's for a wife or girlfriend. So which is it?"

"Wife," Niles replied.

"Anniversary, or birthday?"

"Neither," Niles said, now growing annoyed with this man's comments. "If you must know, my wife is eight months pregnant, and I just wanted to do something special for her. Now, can you please ring these up? I have a lot more to do before she gets home."

The cashier shrugged as he began ringing up the purchases. He told Niles the total, and Niles paid. He hadn't thought it would be such a big deal to go into a bookstore and make a few simple purchases. But, then, the man who'd checked him out was likely barely in his twenties, with no experience in the sort of love that Niles shared with Daphne.

When he arrived back at the Montana, Niles went straight to work. He had already removed several shelves' worth of books from his vast personal library. The books he'd taken out were now at his office. His plan was to temporarily re-purpose his study. Daphne didn't have as much energy these days as she had earlier in her pregnancy. Having their first child was taking quite a toll on her. Niles hated seeing her so exhausted all the time, so he'd made it his mission to give her some space to relax. He had already purchased a very comfortable chair, not unlike the one his father had become so attached to.

These books were the final piece. He'd carefully selected titles that he thought might appeal to his angel. Romance novels were hardly his area of expertise. But, luckily, he'd sought advice from Roz. She and Daphne had vastly differing ideas on romance, but Roz understood Daphne's tastes. Niles carefully arranged the books on the shelves, placing them in alphabetical order. Organization was the key to any library. Once that was finished, he stood to survey his handiwork.

He had kept his desk, of course. But he would gladly give up the use of it for a while. He planned to let Daphne use this room as much as she wanted. She had told him before that she thought his study was too stuffy. That was the result of Niles' decorating style. He'd done what he could to make it more appealing to Daphne. He'd put a few paintings on the walls. Many of them depicted lush, green countrysides. He hoped they would remind her of her home in Manchester. Above all, he wanted her to understand how much her happiness and well-being meant to him. Of course, he'd always been willing to make her happy no matter what. But now that she was carrying his child, he felt an even stronger love for her than he'd ever thought possible.

Before Niles could do anything more to this room, he heard a noise. Daphne must be coming home. He'd asked his father and Ronee for help, hoping they could stall her and give him as much time as possible to complete his project. But his time was up. It was either now, or never.

He walked out into the living room, sighing at once when he saw her. "Welcome home, my love."

Daphne sighed. "Your father's going to be the death of me. First he wouldn't do his bloody exercises. I told him tough luck. Your brother hired me to do a job, and I'm not going to stop just because I'm pregnant and suddenly big as a house!"

Niles reached out to caress her cheek. "You are still beautiful, no matter what your size. You're carrying the most precious thing in the world inside of you right now: our child."

Daphne kissed him then, grateful he was always there to reassure her when she needed it. But she was still frustrated with her father-in-law's stubbornness. "Once I convinced your father to do as he's told, he started asking me all these bloody questions. What we're going to name the baby, what we'll do if me water breaks and you're at one of your operas. What kind of school our child should go to. How am I supposed to know any of those things?! The baby isn't even born yet!"

Despite the obvious annoyance in his wife's expression, Niles couldn't resist smiling. "I'm sorry you had such a difficult day, my love. But perhaps all you need is some time to relax. If you'll just follow me, I think you'll like what I've got to show you."

"Oh, Darling, please, can't it wait? I feel like I've been on me feet all day. I'd really like to just lie down upstairs for a while."

Niles gently kissed the back of her hand. "All I'm asking is that you trust me enough to follow me. I promise it won't take more than a few minutes. After that, you'll be free to do whatever you like for the rest of the evening."

Daphne looked into Niles' eyes, suddenly becoming aware of how deeply he loved her. Though every part of her simply wanted to collapse into bed, she somehow found the strength to go along. "All right." She slipped her hand into his.

Niles took a moment to savor the sensation of holding her hand. Even such a small gesture was enough to take his breath away. "Right this way." He led them down a hallway. When they were just a few feet from his study, Niles turned to her. "Close your eyes."

Daphne did as he asked, giggling a bit. She couldn't imagine what he could possibly have in mind. Suddenly, all her stress from just a few moments ago melted away. She took a deep breath, taking one small step in the dark, toward wherever he was leading.

Niles carefully guided her to the doorway. Then he gently let go of her hand. "OK. Now open."

Daphne's eyes opened, and for a second, she didn't understand. All she saw was Niles' study, the same as it had always been. But then she noticed the chair. It definitely hadn't been there before. She walked into the room to get a closer look. That's when she got a glimpse of the shelves. Almost one whole wall was free of psychiatry books. In their place, she saw romance novels. Suddenly, she understood: this was for _her_. "Oh, Darling!" She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"You've been so tired lately, I just wanted you to have a place where you could rest. I know that I am rather protective of my study, but I realized that this is your home, too. _Our_ home," he corrected, glancing down at her stomach. "You've already given me the greatest gift I could hope for." He placed his hand on top of the place where he knew his child was growing. "I just wanted to give you something to let you know how much I love you. _Both_ of you."

Suddenly, Daphne felt tears in her eyes. When it felt like her entire body hurt, and she saw what this pregnancy had done to her figure, it was often easy to forget what it was all for. It was so that she and Niles could share their love with a child. That made all of it more than worth it. "Thank you," she whispered, before kissing him repeatedly. Soon they were both lightheaded.

Niles could barely catch his breath as he felt Daphne's lips on his again and again. He was so consumed with desire for her that it was difficult to restrain himself. But this was neither the time nor the place for such things. "Daphne," he said, between kisses. "I think we'd better stop this."

Daphne looked at him in confusion. "Have I done something wrong?"

Niles smiled as he gently brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. "On the contrary. You've done everything right. Maybe even a bit _too_ right. But I'm sure that isn't what you want right now. I'd be more than happy to go upstairs for a while, or even go out and have a cup of coffee at Nervosa. I figured you'd want some space, and you certainly deserve some time to yourself."

Daphne pulled him even closer. "I'm touched that you'd go to all this trouble for me. But to tell you the truth, I think I'd like to wait a while before I sit down to read. These romance novels are a wonderful way to escape from me life now and then. But right now, I don't want to escape. Why would I, when I've already got someone who puts every one of these books to shame? Ever since I found out that you loved me, and we became a couple, you've been making me whole life a fairy tale. And now, here we are, about to start a new chapter. I know that I haven't exactly been the greatest wife these past few months. I think it's time I said thank you." She kissed him again. When their lips parted, she gave him a mischievous wink.

Niles let out a contented sigh. "Oh, my love. You don't need to thank me for a single thing. I'll never be able to thank _you_ for all the ways you've changed my life. But, as long as we're both feeling this way, perhaps we should see it through. I imagine we can find a way to...express our love."

Daphne did not answer, instead grinning at him. She took his hand, and began leading him back out toward the living room. Being married wasn't always as easy as she'd thought it would be. Daphne often became so caught up in the details of everyday life that she forgot how lucky she was. But Niles was always there to make sure that she remembered.

There were sure to be many more trying days until their baby would be born. But Daphne felt suddenly lighter than she had in months. Love had a way of making all things seem possible. All she needed to do was remember that.

**The End**


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